TITLE:
Social Support Provided to Women Undergoing Breast Cancer Treatment: A Study Review
AUTHORS:
Ana Fátima Fernandes, Amanda Cruz, Camila Moreira, Míria Conceição Santos, Tiago Silva
KEYWORDS:
Breast Cancer, Oncological Treatment, Social Support
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Breast Cancer Research,
Vol.3 No.2,
April
25,
2014
ABSTRACT: Breast cancer treatment
may have implications for women’s quality of life and social support, which
refers to mechanisms through which interpersonal relationships protect people
from the detrimental effects of stress. This study’s objective was to analyze
evidence available in the literature concerning social support provided to
women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. The Latin American and
Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS), PubMed, Web of Science,
Psycinfo and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)
databases were used to select the studies. The papers were pre-selected after
reading titles and abstracts and ten papers were ultimately selected after
fully reading the texts. The studies were summarized, while their
methodological designs and results were noted. The analysis of the studies
shows that social support can be provided to women with breast cancer, such as
emotional, instrumental and informational support. It is apparent that
emotional and instrumental support is provided in the first phase of the
treatment. The main sources of support include the spouses, family members and
friends. Spouses provide emotional support, but mainly provide instrumental
support, while family members and friends are the most important source of
emotional support. The conclusion is that emotional support greatly contributes
to the health-disease continuum, favoring treatment adherence and creating opportunities
for women to express their feelings, positively influencing the treatment.